Physician Participation in Executions

Question: Should physicians participate in the execution of prisoners?

Answer:

A physician’s opinion on capital punishment is a personal opinion of that individual. However, as a physician he or she has the ethical responsibility to abide by the Code of Medical Ethics that governs the actions of those in the medical profession. The AMA’s position on physician participation in executions, which embodies the spirit of the Hippocratic Oath, is quite clear that “a physician, as a member of a profession dedicated to preserving life when there is hope of doing so, should not be a participant in a legally authorized execution.”[i] The AMA sees its role in protecting values and services that may otherwise be vulnerable in society because of overshadowing by government, as is the case for executions, or by the private sector.[ii] Despite the fact that physician participation at executions violates the basic tenet of the Hippocratic Oath and the position of the AMA, not to mention similar positions of other medical societies, physicians continue to participate and it is expected that their involvement will only increase in the future. Their rationale ranges from it is a legal procedure approved by a democratic government, to participation minimizes pain and suffering and therefore is in the best interest of the prisoner. Personal and societal values seem to trump their professional values. However, these arguments fall apart when examined and scrutinized from an ethical perspective.

Some have argued that the way to circumvent the dilemma of physician participation is to train other medical personnel, such as physician assistants, nurses, etc., to perform the same task as the physician. This argument is clearly illogical. It assumes that other health care professionals are less dedicated to the ethical ideals of the medical profession. One might assume that all health care professionals are bound by the same basic ethical standards such as “first, do no harm.” In fact, the current professional oaths and position statements of both the American Nursing Association and the American Academy of Physician Assistants prohibit member participation in executions on ethical grounds.[iii] Logic and consistency would dictate that all medical professionals are bound by the same ethical arguments and constraints. Other physicians have tried to argue that their participation in executions is beneficent because it minimizes the risk of a botched procedure and thus minimizes pain and suffering. However, it has been shown that lethal injection, while on the surface may appear to be a painless way to die, in reality may be far more cruel and painful than anyone even imagined. How any physician, who is dedicated to “preserving life when there is hope,” can argue that taking the life of a healthy person because the state commands it is in the patient’s best interest and does not conflict with the goals of medicine is beyond comprehension. Physician participation in executions is unethical because it violates the four basic principles that govern medical ethics: respect for persons, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice.

The fear of many is that some physicians have been co-opted by the penal authorities and state legislatures in this country to believe that physician participation is a civic duty and one that is in the prisoner’s best interest. In reality, these physicians are being used as a means to an end. They are being used by certain states to medicalize executions in order to make them more palatable to the American public and to prevent capital punishment from being declared unconstitutional because it is “cruel and unusual punishment.” A basic tenet of the principle of respect for persons is that one may never use another person as a means to an end. Legislating that physicians must be present at executions uses these physicians as pawns or means in order to legitimize capital punishment. This not only violates the rights of these physicians but violates the basic ethical principles of the medical profession and distorts the physicians’ role in society. The AMA and other medical societies should take a strong position that participation of physicians in executions is grounds for revoking a physician’s license. “Even though state legislatures may attempt to subvert this position by guaranteeing anonymity to physicians who serve as executioners, the risk of losing one’s license should serve as a deterrent.”[iv] Until the AMA and other medical societies back up their positions with concrete actions, the image of a “white-coated healer” will continue to be confused with that of the “black-hooded executioner.” This does not bode well for the medical profession or society as a whole, “because when the healing hand becomes the hand inflicting the wound, the world is turned inside out.”[v]

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[i] Council of Ethical and Judicial Affairs, American Medical Association,” Code of Medical Ethics, supra note 24, at 2.06, p.18.